Preview:Vissel Kobe vs Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

Barcelona will kick off their preparations for the 2025-26 campaign with a pre-season friendly against Vissel Kobe in Japan on Sunday, with the match back on after initially being called off.

Earlier this week, Barcelona revealed that they would not be heading to Japan to take on Vissel Kobe due to a “serious breach of contract on behalf of the promotor", but the matter has been resolved, and the Catalan outfit till take on the Japanese side in their first friendly of the summer.

Match preview

Barcelona enjoyed an excellent 2024-25 campaign under the leadership of Hansi Flick, winning La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey, but they fell just short in the Champions League, losing a thriller against Inter Milan in the semi-finals of the tournament.

The Catalan giants will again start the 2025-26 season as the favourites to triumph in La Liga, despite the brilliance of Real Madrid, and they have managed to add three players to their squad this summer, signing Joan Garcia, Roony Bardghji and Marcus Rashford, with all three in the squad for the Asia tour.

Barcelona will also take on Seoul and Daegu as part of their tour, before returning to Spain to tackle Como in the Joan Gamper Trophy; the Catalan team will then begin their La Liga campaign against Mallorca on August 16.

Club president Joan Laporta has suggested that there will be no further incomings this summer, as the club had always been looking to bring in a goalkeeper and a wide forward, but there will be outgoings.

It is shaping up to be a very interesting 2025-26 campaign for Barcelona, as they target success in the Champions League, and this tour will be extremely important in terms of their preparations for the new campaign.

Vissel Kobe, meanwhile, were last in action on July 20, recording a 2-1 victory over Fagiano in the J1 League, and they currently sit at the top of the table, boasting 46 points from their 24 matches.

Takayuki Yoshida's side are in excellent form, winning each of their last four games in all competitions, while they are unbeaten since a 3-2 reverse to Shimizu at the end of May.

This is a team used to winning football matches, and the fact that they are 24 matches into their league season will make them difficult opposition for Barcelona.

Vissel Kobe are two-time J1 League champions, lifting the title in 2023 and 2024, and they are the favourites to make it three titles in a row this year, but there is still a lot of football to be played.

After this match, the Japanese champions will be back in action on August 6 against Toyo Uni in the Emperor Cup, before facing Machida in their next league fixtures on August 10.

Vissel Kobe form (all competitions):

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Team News

Vissel Kobe will make full use of their squad in this match, so there will be opportunities for a number of players to impress, with two different XIs potentially featuring in each half.

Taisei Miyashiro has been in strong scoring form this season, netting 13 times in all competitions, and the 25-year-old will again feature in an attacking position.

Meanwhile, there are also set to be starts for Erik, who has eight goals this season, and Daiju Sasaki, with the latter finding the back of the net on seven occasions during the current campaign.

As for Barcelona, Rashford and Joan Garcia are both in line to make their debuts, while there could also be a first appearance for Bardghji following his arrival from Copenhagen.

Joan Garcia is set to start between the sticks, but Rashford is expected to appear off the bench, with Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo and Raphinha potentially starting behind Robert Lewandowski.

There are no injury problems in the squad, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen is not with the group, with the Germany international preparing to undergo a back operation next week.

Vissel Kobe possible starting lineup:

Maekawa; Sakai, Yamakawa, Thuler, Nagato; Ideguchi, Ogihara, Miyashiro; Erik, Sasaki, Hirose

Barcelona possible starting lineup:

J Garcia; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; De Jong, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha; Lewandowski

We say: Vissel Kobe 1-2 Barcelona

This will be a tough test for Barcelona considering that Vissel Kobe are deep into their season, but the Catalan outfit have so much quality, and we are expecting the visitors to record a narrow victory in this contest.